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Help with anxiety

January 30, 2011

[posted by a reader]

I am going through some major problems in my life right now, out of my control. I am suffering from major anxiety and I am having panic attacks. I am tempted to start medication because I need a quick fix, something like Xanax to take the edge off. This is very uncharacteristic of me because I never use medication and follow GSG, but I am desperate right now. One of the sad things is, is that it will be cheaper to get medication. I need help. The only time I have felt free of my anxiety is when I eat 100% raw food, but I have a very hard time keeping it up. Any suggestions?

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About Robyn

Robyn Openshaw is the author or editor of 14 titles, including the bestselling book The Green Smoothies Diet, the children's book, The Adventures of Junk Food Dude, and the course 12 Steps to Whole Foods. She’s passionate about overthrowing the Standard American Diet by teaching people to eat more whole foods easily, inexpensively, and deliciously. She’s the mom of 4 competitive athletes as well as a runner, cyclist, skier, and competitive tennis player. She travels all over the world speaking to sold-out audiences and studying non-toxic cancer treatment for her next project.

Nurturing your adrenal glands is KEY. I used to have panic attacks when I was in my early 30’s and like you, the cure was in getting completely off sugar and eating mostly raw plant foods. Medication will be a crutch, as you probably know–doesn’t solve the problem. You can also consult an herbologist about support for the adrenals, to counteract your stress (sometimes an adrenal support formula is available at your health food store?). My guess is that you will get some specific suggestion here, from those who know their herbs. Good luck to you, hang in there. Take some kava kava in water a couple of times a day, too.

Have you tried exercise? I was able to go off of big meds after I started getting regular exercise. It took a couple of months, but I felt so much better. I got off the exercise habit over this past summer with my kids home and started feeling depressed/stressed out again. Getting back to moving regularly has made another marked improvement on my outlook.

I’ve been taking L-Theanine and doing Bach Flower, Rescue Remedy. It helps some. I do exercise a lot. I’ve been on other herbs and supplements for the last year, spending over $2000 and haven’t had any relief. Maybe I need something else in the natural way that I’m not finding. I need to look into Kava Kava.

I, too, experienced knarley anxiety attacks– for me it was pregnancy and post-partum related. Anyhow, it is NO fun! And feels very scary and like noone truly understands your suffering.

A couple things: after resisting (due to expense) I ultimately was greatly helped by EFT (also known as “tapping”). I recommend finding someone who has a lot of experience and can cite you referrals of those helped with specifically anxiety issues.

Secondly, I would utilize an amazing technique that I actually learned from a Practitioner who does this Tapping techniques. He does this before every successful treatment, and I would often use this trick alone to ward off an attack when I would feel that humming of it coming on. It’s called “Balanced Breathing” and, as I said, most often could get me out of an anxiety jam. Google “Balanced Breathing” & Dr. George Pratt, and I believe he has a link to a video of him doing the technique. Don’t underestimate the power of 2 minutes of this simple technique. I pray and hope that you find relief. I was encouraged to do the meds thing when I was in the thick of it, and was just so grateful to find these things that helped me instead. When you seek… So shall you find. I know you will find the right thing for you. Good luck!

Meghan, you’d have to show me the evidence. Also, there’s exercise and there’s exercise. If the exercise is pushing your body too hard and it’s stressful mentally/physically, I’d agree that may not be the greatest idea. If you’re skiing or playing tennis or cycling (the things I do for the LOVE of it, not the cardio or stretching or resistance training), things that aren’t stressful, then I disagree. Going for a walk with a friend? A cortisol-reducing activity! Running 10 miles? Could be pushing too far.

I would highly recommend Dr F Batmanghelidj’s (not sure spelling is right!) books, especially “Cancer Obesity and Depression, Their Natural Cause and Common Cure” – he has written 5 other books about water and salt balance in the human body as well, but I think that this one is the clearest about the role of salt and water in the cells. This method has cured me of lifelong constipation, sinusitis, catarrh, and allergies so severe that I sneezed 600 to 1000 times per day – and yes, I did type that correctly! It cured my brother of life-threatening asthma that he’d had for 24 years, and the cure took only 16 days. It cured a neighbour of terrible back pain, and the daughter of a friend of exzema that she had on 90% of her body – and it only took 3 days to do it. Another friend was cured of panic attacks, high blood pressure and fear of going out of her house in just 1 day. Well worth investigating. I wish you all the best – this water and salt technique should be known by everyone. Robyn, I often add 1/8th tsp of sea salt or rock salt to my green smoothies, by the way. Robyn, please could you get in touch with the lady who wrote the original comment and pass this on to her? Thank you.

The contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Robyn Openshaw. Nothing herein is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This website is a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Robyn and should not be construed as medical advice. Robyn encourages you to make your own health and nutrition decisions based upon your research and in partnership with your own qualified professionals.

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